Omaha daily bee., 1887-12-05
THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
Secretary Lamar's Annual and What
1t Deals With.
Recommendations For Enforcing the
Law-Thc Oficial Facts of the
CoIorow Uprising Given
Other Matters.
Lamar's Annual Report.

WASHlNGToS. Dec. 4.-1he most interest
ing feature of the report of the secretary of
the interior-in regard to the public land pol
icy-has already been given to the public,
but the balance of the report was not fur
nished for publication until to-day. The doc
ument is very volumnous, and after discus
sing railroad land grants, already published,
it takes up the subject of unlawful enclosure
of the public lands. or the work the past
year in this department, the report says:
"rhe work of returning to the people the
large areas of the public land hitherto lille
gally appropriated by corporations and indi-
viduals engaged in the cattle business on the
plains, has progressed most successfully dur
ing the past year. The papers transmitted
from the general land Office show that i65
illegal enclosures, aggregating in area nearly
1000 0OO acres, have been reported. In 1873
of these cases, involving 3,275,000 acres, pro-
ceedings have been instituted and in 165
cases the special agents report the removal,
complete or in progress, of the illegal fences,
throwing open to public use and occupancy
1894 900 acres. This does not include the
work of the two inspectors, Messrs. Bowers
and Hunter, sent from my office to the terri
tories of New Mexico and Wyoming. Through
their agency fences have been removed in
1l9 cases, embracing an area of 900
acres of public land, making total of nearly
100000 acres restored to the public domain.
Two plans have been considered by the de-
partmcnt requiring congressional action, to
remedy evasion of the law. The first is to
enact bill establishing public highway
around, four rods wide, every section of
land, the section lines being the center of
such highways. Make this a part of the pub
lie land system, so that all future entries
made upon the public lands should be subject
to this provision. The second plan consid
cred is through the passage of a bill to
authorize the secretary of the interior to
lease the intermediate sections of public
land to the owners of the adjacent railroad
sections. Necessary provisions of this bill
would be that such leased lands should be
subject to entry under the land laws at any
time, the lessees' rent terminating from the
date of entry; that entrymcn should have "a
right to lease adjacent public land proper
tionato to the area entered; that gates should
be placed to suit the convenience of the set
tiers, one every mile"
The secretary renewS the suggestion of en-
acting Il law making false returns of public
surveys penal oifenso. He also urges legis-
lation for the preservation of public timber.
In regard to the Indians the secretary re-
views the operations Of the bureau, and es-
pecially the general allotment law. OF this
he says: "Whatever difficulties and grievous
discouragements may attend the execution of
| the purposes of this law, it is, in my opinion,
| the only escape open to these people from the
dire alternative of impending extirpation.n
The statistics on Indian schools show graft
| flying Improvement. There are about forty
| thousand children of school age, from six to
| sixteen years, among that portion of Indian
| population for whose benefit the appropri-
atons for Indian educational purposes, as far
as they will go, are sought to be expended.
| Schools for these to the number of 221 have
| been provided, with capacity for accommo-
| dating about IL, i66 pupils.
| OF the Colorow "outbreak'' in Colorado
| the report says: "a small band of Ute
| Indians, numbering about sixty souls, under
| Colorow, with Chepeta, the widow of Ouray,
| Il former friendly Ute chief, have been for
| some time past roaming in the northwestern
i part of Colorado, and pasturing their ilOcks
\ and herds on that portion of the public
domain formerly the home of the tribe, and
| for which CooroW and his followers have "a
| strong attachment. Though these Indians
| were peaceably disposed, their presence there
| was reported to be the cause OF some annoy
| ance to settlers, but more particularly to the
| owners of stock cattle and those employed
| with the large ilocks and herds also grazing
| upon these public lands.
| The agent for the Ute Indians was in
| structcd to require the absent Indians to go
| to and remain upon the reservation; and in
| order that the want of knowledge of the To-
cation of the dividing line between the
| reservation in Utah territory and the state of
| Colorado might uot be an excuse for again
leaving their reserve, the secretary of war
| was requested to detail a competent military
officer to plainly mark the boundary.
while these matters were receiving atten-
tion and the necessary correspondence, there
| arose-in August last-conSlderable excite
mCnt in the vicinity of the town of Mecker,
in Garfield county, Col The United States
marshal telcgraphed from Denver on the 18th
that the Ute Indians were on the war-path,
and requested that the war department be
asked to send troops. Senator Teller, my
immediate predecessor in this department
telcgraphed from the same point on the 29th
that the 'Ouray Ute Indians in Colorado
| ought to be compelled to return to their res
crvation. If they do not there will be
trouble In the meantime it was published
| in the press that the governor of Colorado
| had ordered the militia of the state to the
| scene of trouble, and that he had also called
| upon General Crook, commanding military
| department, for the aid of United States
| troops. No other or regular application for
| such aid had come to the knowledge of this
department, which, however, communicated
| such information as it had to the secretary OF
war on August 20, and requested that he have
the troops if furnished, while in the locality
use all proper means to induce the Indians tc
go to and remain upon their reservation.
"a request for troops, telegraphed August
24th to this department by Governor
| Adams, was received on the following day
and he was Immediately informed in reply
that the president did not consider that any
case had been presented under the constitu
tion and laws justilying the employment OI
| United States troops in Colorado the belief
| was also expressed that ColoTow and his fol
lowers could be induced to return to theil
reservation if the hostile demonstrations
against him We're suspended and he assured
against attack and further, that such line OF
action, if concurred i'll by the governor, would
be entered upon by the government
"On the same day Governor Adams tele
graphed to the department that Colorow hat
signiicd his desire for "a conference, and foi
that purpose he would start that night foi
| Garfield county expressing his desire to get
the Indians out of the state peaceably anC
asking that the officers at Fort Du Chesne bt
ordered to the scene of trouble to meet him
him Upon the belief that this dispatch re
ccived ON "a following day, indicated the
adontion of the '"a Of action suggested il
the telegram sent to the Governor; ne was "a
once informed by wire that, direction o.
the president, Agent Byrnes anu -ehera
Crook would be instructed to meet and cou-
fer with him in reference to Colorows peace.
able return TO the reservation. The officers
named were instructed accordingly.
Upon receipt of official information of the
seizure by Major Leslie of 800 head of Indian
horses, which he had corraled nj Rangely, tc
be held until certain Indians were delivered
TO him, Acting Secretary Muldrow ON An
| gust 30, telegraphed the governor, by direc-
ton of the president, the request that he
would take all proper measures 10 deliver the
horses to Agent Byrnes, who was directed tC
| take charge of the same . soon ne arr,ln1p